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The Trophy Husband
9 to 5
Hidden agendas .
The personal assistant: When Sara caught her fiancé being unfaithful with her cousin, she felt doubly betrayed.
Her boss: Almost miraculously, Alex Rossini was on hand to help Sara pick up the pieces. However, having worked for Alex for some time now, she knew he never did anything without expecting something in return. So why was she surprised when he revealed that he was prepared to pay the cost of having herbe it money or marriage?
Business or pleasure? Sara wanted Alex so badly, she would have given herself to him with no strings attached. But in order to win Alex, she would have to play his gameand choose her price .
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
54 people are currently reading
882 people want to read
About the author
Lynne Graham
1,763 books1,450 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Lynne Graham was born on July 30, 1956 of Irish-Scottish parentage. She has livedin Northern Ireland all her life. She grew up in a seaside village with herbrother. She learnt to read at the age of 3, and haven't stopped since then.
Lynne first met her husband when she was 14. At 15, she wrote her firstbook, but it was rejected everywhere. Lynne married after she completed adegree at Edinburgh University. She started writing again when she was athome with her first child. It took several attempts before she sold herfirst book in 1987 and the delight of seeing that first book for sale in thelocal newsagents has never been forgotten. Now, there are over 10 million ofher books in print worldwide.
Lynne always wanted a large family and has five children. Her eldest and heronly natural child is 19 and currently at university. Her other fourchildren, who are every bit as dear to her heart, are adopted. She has two9-year-olds adopted from Sri Lanka and a 5- and a 3-year-old adopted fromGuatemala. In Lynne's home, there is a rich and diverse cultural mix, whichadds a whole extra dimension of interest and discovery to family life. Thefamily lives in a country house surrounded by a woodland garden, which iswonderfully private. The family has two pets. Thomas, a very large andaffectionate black cat, bosses the dog and hunts rabbits. The dog is Daisy,an adorable but not very bright white West Highland terrier, who loves beingchased by the cat. At night, dog and cat sleep together in front of thekitchen stove. Lynne loves gardening, cooking, collects everything from oldtoys to rock specimens and is crazy about every aspect of Christmas.
Lynne Graham was born on July 30, 1956 of Irish-Scottish parentage. She has livedin Northern Ireland all her life. She grew up in a seaside village with herbrother. She learnt to read at the age of 3, and haven't stopped since then.
Lynne first met her husband when she was 14. At 15, she wrote her firstbook, but it was rejected everywhere. Lynne married after she completed adegree at Edinburgh University. She started writing again when she was athome with her first child. It took several attempts before she sold herfirst book in 1987 and the delight of seeing that first book for sale in thelocal newsagents has never been forgotten. Now, there are over 10 million ofher books in print worldwide.
Lynne always wanted a large family and has five children. Her eldest and heronly natural child is 19 and currently at university. Her other fourchildren, who are every bit as dear to her heart, are adopted. She has two9-year-olds adopted from Sri Lanka and a 5- and a 3-year-old adopted fromGuatemala. In Lynne's home, there is a rich and diverse cultural mix, whichadds a whole extra dimension of interest and discovery to family life. Thefamily lives in a country house surrounded by a woodland garden, which iswonderfully private. The family has two pets. Thomas, a very large andaffectionate black cat, bosses the dog and hunts rabbits. The dog is Daisy,an adorable but not very bright white West Highland terrier, who loves beingchased by the cat. At night, dog and cat sleep together in front of thekitchen stove. Lynne loves gardening, cooking, collects everything from oldtoys to rock specimens and is crazy about every aspect of Christmas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
April 2, 2017
This book was a total “what is going on here” for me. I felt my head whirling around from one place to another….you know how spectators look when they watching a tense tennis match!!!
That was me, and my friends....
Plus I was confused most of the time…….let me try and give a “short” explanation: -
Okay, so Sara, the heroine, having received an urgent message to go home, like now…arrives and finds her fiancée in bed with her cousin!!!
So, heartbroken, she goes back to work, has a couple of “swigs” of brandy which she just happens to find in her desk drawer. Then we have Alex, the gorgeous and natch,,,,, beautiful Italian boss asking her to take some notes for him…hasn’t he discovered laptops and windows????...anyway, Sara has worked for Alex for over a year…she’s like a bit of a drab looking gal….yes, yes…true beauty hides underneath all those horrible clothes….she of course does not believe she’s beautiful…but Alex…wow does he ever!!!!
We discover later on that he’s had his “eye” on her for a long time…REALLY!!!!!!!!! Oh yes…my first “peeve”…what is that that authors always write about a heroine that is like…petite..Sara is 5ft1 ---and Alex is over 6ft…….I don’t find this combination that sexy!!!!!
Where does her head reach on his body????? She’ll spend a lot of time looking at his chest….
Allright…moving right along…….so Alex takes her to his home….he’s a very caring and understanding man…RIGHT!!! She’s a bit tipsy...remember the brandy???. And I knew all along…that these two would have some explosive encounter. So, the deed is done…Alex discovers that Sara is a virgin...at 23!!!!/// okay, she explains she wanted the first time to be special with her future husband…who is now the never to be husband….because??????
Alex asks Sara to marry him. Yes, within 24hrs!!! He’s totally crazy about her. Uh!!! She of course is “horrified” at the offer…what kind of woman does he think she is!!! But, wait…he takes her with him to check out some stately English home he’s just purchased…and of course……..she falls in love…not with him…with the house…so why not say yes….she will then be able to use her talents to “vamp” it up and life the high life!!!
Now, before you think that this is some “horrible and gold-digger” heroine…stop. She’s not really. She’s just confused, heart-broken by “no wedding”…so why not have her perfect wedding with a much more interesting…see rich and gorgeous….man!!!
By now, I’m thinking…wow, this man really loves her. What the hell is she being so cold and whiny??? I’m beginning to like this hero...never mind that he was the one who arranged for the fone call so that she would find her now ex-fiancee in the cheating act….can I add that her cousin….who took boring salesman ex-fiancee away from Sara is such a cow…a jealous and horrible one too!!!
And then….talk about a 180degree turn!!!!!! Alex blows “cold” and soon he’s telling Sara that he wants a divorce!!! Is this for real???? No, he comes back and still loves her………you will agree with me when you see what moves he pulls to show her!!!!!!!
Wow…double Wow………..now it’s Sara’s 180degree turn!!!!! She grows a backbone, seriously. She’s no longer going to tolerate Alex’s mood swings. He better wake up or she will walk!!!
You understand now? Why my head is spinning…………and I haven’t even mentioned Alex’s sleazy brother, his “older” ex-lover, his friend’s bitchy wife, her awful and dysfunctional adopted family….am I suppose to understand all this because a) Sarah is illegitimate (her mother got pregnant by a Greek waiter and has since died) and b) Alex’s family is just as mad…his father has been married five times, has children by different wives, etc etc etc…..
Oh...and all those "cara" and
These were two “basket” case characters….I mean Sara and Alex….but in some way, I kind of liked them!!!!!! Hard to believe but true!!! Yes Sara, at last, sees the "light".....
And really, any book by Lynne Graham….you may be rolling your eyes…but you are never bored!!!!
That was me, and my friends....
Plus I was confused most of the time…….let me try and give a “short” explanation: -
Okay, so Sara, the heroine, having received an urgent message to go home, like now…arrives and finds her fiancée in bed with her cousin!!!
Bummer!!! And the wedding is 6 weeks away!!
So, heartbroken, she goes back to work, has a couple of “swigs” of brandy which she just happens to find in her desk drawer. Then we have Alex, the gorgeous and natch,,,,, beautiful Italian boss asking her to take some notes for him…hasn’t he discovered laptops and windows????...anyway, Sara has worked for Alex for over a year…she’s like a bit of a drab looking gal….yes, yes…true beauty hides underneath all those horrible clothes….she of course does not believe she’s beautiful…but Alex…wow does he ever!!!!
We discover later on that he’s had his “eye” on her for a long time…REALLY!!!!!!!!! Oh yes…my first “peeve”…what is that that authors always write about a heroine that is like…petite..Sara is 5ft1 ---and Alex is over 6ft…….I don’t find this combination that sexy!!!!!
Where does her head reach on his body????? She’ll spend a lot of time looking at his chest….
Allright…moving right along…….so Alex takes her to his home….he’s a very caring and understanding man…RIGHT!!! She’s a bit tipsy...remember the brandy???. And I knew all along…that these two would have some explosive encounter. So, the deed is done…Alex discovers that Sara is a virgin...at 23!!!!/// okay, she explains she wanted the first time to be special with her future husband…who is now the never to be husband….because??????
Alex asks Sara to marry him. Yes, within 24hrs!!! He’s totally crazy about her. Uh!!! She of course is “horrified” at the offer…what kind of woman does he think she is!!! But, wait…he takes her with him to check out some stately English home he’s just purchased…and of course……..she falls in love…not with him…with the house…so why not say yes….she will then be able to use her talents to “vamp” it up and life the high life!!!
Now, before you think that this is some “horrible and gold-digger” heroine…stop. She’s not really. She’s just confused, heart-broken by “no wedding”…so why not have her perfect wedding with a much more interesting…see rich and gorgeous….man!!!
By now, I’m thinking…wow, this man really loves her. What the hell is she being so cold and whiny??? I’m beginning to like this hero...never mind that he was the one who arranged for the fone call so that she would find her now ex-fiancee in the cheating act….can I add that her cousin….who took boring salesman ex-fiancee away from Sara is such a cow…a jealous and horrible one too!!!
And then….talk about a 180degree turn!!!!!! Alex blows “cold” and soon he’s telling Sara that he wants a divorce!!! Is this for real???? No, he comes back and still loves her………you will agree with me when you see what moves he pulls to show her!!!!!!!
Wow…double Wow………..now it’s Sara’s 180degree turn!!!!! She grows a backbone, seriously. She’s no longer going to tolerate Alex’s mood swings. He better wake up or she will walk!!!
You understand now? Why my head is spinning…………and I haven’t even mentioned Alex’s sleazy brother, his “older” ex-lover, his friend’s bitchy wife, her awful and dysfunctional adopted family….am I suppose to understand all this because a) Sarah is illegitimate (her mother got pregnant by a Greek waiter and has since died) and b) Alex’s family is just as mad…his father has been married five times, has children by different wives, etc etc etc…..
Oh...and all those "cara" and
and some more
These were two “basket” case characters….I mean Sara and Alex….but in some way, I kind of liked them!!!!!! Hard to believe but true!!! Yes Sara, at last, sees the "light".....
And really, any book by Lynne Graham….you may be rolling your eyes…but you are never bored!!!!
and yes, my head....spin and spin and spin.... until the very last page!!!
October 18, 2018
Re Trophy Husband - Lynne Graham makes a foray into the long running 9 to 5 series in this very funny story of unrequited office love.
Another staple trope in HPlandia, the secretary/boss trope is always great for those little angsty yearnings of anticipation when the long term adoration of one character is finally returned. LG gives her own unique and entertaining spin on the topic here.
Because while other HP authors give us the inner pining of a yearning h, LG wants to see what happens when it is the boss who is caught up in the unrelenting claws of frustrated longing.
Given that this is LG's HPlandia and H's are bound by iron-clad HP Hero contractual obligations to be dominant manly alpha lurve club swingers, it is a pretty safe bet that they aren't going to sit at their desks and blush whenever their love object makes an appearance.
When the story starts, Sara, the 23 yr old h, is hurrying home to the flat she shares with her evil cow of a cousin. We learn Sara is an orphan who was very begrudgingly taken in by her snob and snot pustule aunt when she was a child. Sara's mum had little holiday romance with an Italian, came back with a baby and then sadly moved to a different plane of existence a few years later.
Sara is not a doormat, exactly. But she was made painfully aware of how limited the amount of goodwill was towards her in her mother's family and the snobby snot pustule aunt is the epitome of a bully.
Even tho Sara is well aware that her aunt is a snot pustule, she does consider it a matter of personal honor standards to be appreciative of her aunt letting her live with them until she was 16. So when her cousin Antonia's modeling career tanks and she loses her apartment, Sara agrees to let Antonia move in with her as she will be marrying her fiance Brian and moving to her own house soon anyways.
(Plus Sara can't help but have a smidgen of utter glee that nasty bovine Antonia is getting some comeuppance for all her years on slime swilling behavior by going way down in the career stakes.)
Sara's cousin, Antonia, is a blonde amazon of a beauty and hates that she had to share even a fraction of a shadow of the family limelight with Sara. Needless to say, this has led to years and years and years of Bovine Antonia trying to either destroy or co-opt anything that might belong to Sara.
Unfortunately this also includes Sara's fiance, Brian. When Sara rushes home after the emergency phone call, she finds Antonia and Brian in bed together. Sara is utterly gobsmacked and somehow manages to stumble back to the office, where she works as a PA for a big time business guy, and down a coffee cup of brandy the other PA keeps in his desk for emergencies.
Enter Alex, the big time Italian business guy, who has been massively in love with Sara for over a year. But Sara doesn't even really see him, except as a lady buffet lurving arrogant tyrant with a knack for pulling off impossible deals.
Sara is a bit disapproving of Alex, tho she is too polite to say so. So it must have been the brandy that made her tell his latest dumped lady love caller that Alex is a slime swiller toe rag and the lady can do much better.
Alex seems strangely unimpressed that Sara is completely sloshed and not answering the phones. There are some really funny dictation attempts and Alex generously offers Sara the use of the company apartment as she haltingly explains the horror she just walked into.
When the other PA calls Sara to ask her to get Alex's brother Marco to sign some papers, Sara learns that Alex told Marco that he would pay 2 million dollars for one night with her. Sara's ego and self esteem are at an all time low. Her engagement and her dreams of a happy marriage and home are shattered too. So a two million dollar offer sounds lovely and Marco wanting to do a pin up semi nude photo of her boosts her ego a little too.
Alex shows up and freaks out over Marco and his suggestive lewdness, he punches Marco and then drags Sara out. Alex manages to get Sara back to his apartment, he seems pretty shocked that Sara was really in love with Brian and cancels a dinner party he had planned for the aftershock of Sara's betrayal.
(So you guessed right, Alex set the whole in flagrante delicto scene up. He had one of his security staff check out Brian and discovered he was seeing Antonia on the sly. They faked a call to Sara and that takes us to the start of the book. Sara is still too gobsmacked and boozed up to realize this.)
Alex tries to comfort a seriously distraught Sara by telling her about his own big failed love affair ten years earlier. He met a lovely lady, things were great and then she dumped him and took off. Sara isn't feeling much better by Alex's travails in love, but after a nap and a roofie kiss or two, Sara is ready to revoke her unicorn grooming license forever.
Sara and Alex have a Transcendent Experience on the Golden Shores of Passion moment and then the next morning arrives. Alex was gobsmacked himself when he found out Sara was a unicorn groomer. So he sends a bunch of flowers and is all prepared to whisk Sara off to Paris.
Sara has come to her senses by now. She isn't having any kind of affair with Alex. The night before was a mistake brought on by an attack of ego shattering proportions and a copious amount of brandy. Even tho she is working on her last week of employment for Alex, Sara goes into work.
There Alex makes it clear he wants an affair and after another roofie kiss, this time in front of the entire staff, Sara walks out and goes back to her aunt's house for a while. Sara tells her aunt the engagement is over, but she doesn't want to shock her aunt with the reason why.
Everyone is harassing Sara for being capricious and cancelling the wedding, Brian is arrogantly assuming that he can still marry Sara and Antonia is strutting around like she is the Queen of the sub sewer cesspool.
It is with a great deal of relief that Sara takes off with Alex to go look at a house when he unexpectedly shows up. Alex also tells Sara's aunt and uncle and Brian's family about Antonia and Brian sneaking around together, tho he doesn't mention that Sara found them in bed.
Alex takes Sara to an very nice, but needs a refurbishment, Jacobean manor house. Sara loves the place and Alex smoothly implies that he is ready to settle down and have kids and if Sara will marry him in a mutually beneficial arrangement, the house will be all hers.
(Thus proving that Alex really does know how to make a deal. He initially thought Sara was just infatuated with the whole process of getting married and doing up a house, so he thought he could just dangle a bigger house and a bigger wedding and get the girl. But now he realizes that Sara was emotionally invested in her relationship Brian.)
Alex doesn't like to lose tho, so he figures he can still used the trappings of building a settled life, but throw in the Lurve Force Mojo lurve club events too and make Sara love him that way.
He also strongly points out that Antonia was probably plotting to have Sara dumped at the altar as she ran off with Brian. If Sara marries Alex instead, she can totally pip Antonia at the post and get the type of man Sara's aunt really wanted for Antonia.
Sara isn't at all sure she should be making ANY decisions in her decidedly emotional state, but Alex is a master salesman and he pushes Sara until she agrees to marry him. There is a big wedding that Sara doesn't plan and Sara's aunt manages to interject her own brand of nastiness in when she insists that the now married Antonia and Brian attend her wedding.
(This was the one time where I totally wanted to just smack Sara and tell her to tell her snot snarfer aunt that Antonia and Brian are NOT welcome and for that matter, neither is she.)
At the reception afterwards, Brian tells Sara that Alex set them up to be caught and Sara is really irked. She and Alex have a big fight on the plane during the Venetian honeymoon and Alex tells her she just wanted a trophy husband. Sara tells Alex he is a manipulative toe rag.
The Lurve Force Passion Mojo interferes with Sara staying angry tho, even when some of Alex's friends wanna be OW wives tell Sara she is a dead ringer for Alex's big lost love and that she is a sloppy second. Alex doesn't deny what the woman said, he is having a snit fit because Sara isn't collapsing at his feet and swearing eternal worship for Alex saving her from Brian. He is also massively jealous and cranky about it.
But Sara and Alex do start to connect as a couple, tho when Alex thinks Sara is getting too close, he backs off into office mode. Things come to a big boil when Sara tries to call Alex at work and the new office assistant won't put her through. Then Alex takes off on a business trip and has his other assistant phone Sara to fax some papers.
Sara gets angry that Alex is treating her like she is still his office staff. She is also angry that when Sara makes innocent inquiries like 'when does Alex want to think about a family' Alex takes it as Sara being in competition with Antonia, who got Brian to marry her by claiming she was pregnant. She tells Alex she would have to be cracked in the head to want to bring a child into their relationship as it is.
So Sara decides that if Alex is going to use emotional blackmail to coerce her into being his doormat, she is going to be done with him. She faxes Alex that she is tired of being manipulated and she moves out to the unfinished manor house - Alex bought it with her name on the deed.
Alex is furious and shows up in the middle of a midnight storm. He has to eat banana sandwiches and take a cold shower, cause the house isn't really ready to be lived in yet. He and Sara have a big fight and Sara tells him he needs to quit blaming her for his manipulations and threatening divorce while telling her it is all her fault, cause he is doing plenty of faulty things too.
Alex seems to get that his backing off and continual jealousy over Brian is hurting his marriage and another little truce is established. We learn that Alex's father has been married five times and Alex felt very displaced as the oldest son whose mum died early.
Sara figures out that Alex probably needs a solid, permanent home more than she does and she also realizes that she has fallen in love with Alex, Brian is now a distant and little missed memory.
Then Sara's aunt calls. Sara is miffed because her aunt refuses all Sara's invitations and doesn't seem to want to acknowledge Sara unless she wants something. This time she wants Sara to fix Antonia and Brian's relationship.
Sara decides to go sort Brian out, but she also tells her aunt they are done and then she lies to Alex about what she is doing. Brian is mad because Antonia lied about being pregnant to make Brian marry her before Sara's big day.
Sara feels sorry for Antonia, cause Brian is making Antonia live in the house that Sara designed and decorated. Brian doesn't have the money to pay for a new decor, cause he doesn't make a huge salary and Sara paid for most of the house things herself. Antonia has to live with all of Sara's stuff and it is obviously killing her, then Brian is taunting her that Sara is a better person than she is too.
(Which was patently true, but Brian was a cheater nematode parasite, so why does he think he deserves anything better - and he never paid Sara back for all the house stuff.)
Sara manages to talk Brian around into settling things with Antonia. But then Alex finds out Sara lied and he has a MAJOR blow up. He thinks Sara was sneaking around to have it off with Brian and he wants a divorce.
Sara tries to talk to Alex about what really happened twice, but Alex blows her off and makes a lot of threats and then takes off for parts unknown. Sara is gobsmacked again when she learns Alex has gone off to see his big love from ten years earlier. It seems Alex has been in contact with her for a few years now and Sara thinks the love relationship might be re-established.
So Sara drives up north to check Alex's girlfriend out. The lady is actually married now, looks nothing at all like Sara and Alex is the financial brains behind their business. Alex saved the woman from an abusive husband, but she was older than Alex was and it was more a gratitude affair than a big love match. Now the lady is happily remarried and Alex is a nice friend.
Sara is reassured and after spending the night, she drives home. A very worried Alex is frantically pacing around and is so grateful that Sara came back that he promises never to say he is divorcing her again or to even let her out his sight, cause clearly Sara doesn't yell about things like he does, she just takes action and walks off.
There is a really adorable speech where Alex claims he would have told Sara the sky was pink, if it meant she would marry him and Alex confesses his huge big love and Sara confesses her big love right back.
We all adjourn for some afternoon purple passion and Sara gets Alex to get Brian and Antonia a job out of the country. Alex is happy that some of his devious skills are finally wearing off on sweet Sara and we leave the two of them lurving it up for a very sparkly, rosy glow HEA.
This one is hysterically funny in all the maneuvering that Alex has to do to get Sara to notice him. Sara is a really strong heroine too. She doesn't let Alex get away with bad behavior one little bit, but she isn't mean or witchy about it either.
LG did an excellent job in reversing the typical gender roles of the unrequited boss/secretary romance trope. Alex does exactly what an Alpha male would do in that situation and Sara's responses are truly priceless.
He starts off as a huge nematode at first, but LG manages to turn that around and he is totally adorable by the end. His love for Sara is patently obvious and it is always fun to watch an HP Alpha Male squirm.
That and the really funny scenes are enough to get this on the HP required reading list. So grab this if you find it and have yourself a great adventure with a really believable HEA in HPlandia, this one is completely worth the trip.
Another staple trope in HPlandia, the secretary/boss trope is always great for those little angsty yearnings of anticipation when the long term adoration of one character is finally returned. LG gives her own unique and entertaining spin on the topic here.
Because while other HP authors give us the inner pining of a yearning h, LG wants to see what happens when it is the boss who is caught up in the unrelenting claws of frustrated longing.
Given that this is LG's HPlandia and H's are bound by iron-clad HP Hero contractual obligations to be dominant manly alpha lurve club swingers, it is a pretty safe bet that they aren't going to sit at their desks and blush whenever their love object makes an appearance.
When the story starts, Sara, the 23 yr old h, is hurrying home to the flat she shares with her evil cow of a cousin. We learn Sara is an orphan who was very begrudgingly taken in by her snob and snot pustule aunt when she was a child. Sara's mum had little holiday romance with an Italian, came back with a baby and then sadly moved to a different plane of existence a few years later.
Sara is not a doormat, exactly. But she was made painfully aware of how limited the amount of goodwill was towards her in her mother's family and the snobby snot pustule aunt is the epitome of a bully.
Even tho Sara is well aware that her aunt is a snot pustule, she does consider it a matter of personal honor standards to be appreciative of her aunt letting her live with them until she was 16. So when her cousin Antonia's modeling career tanks and she loses her apartment, Sara agrees to let Antonia move in with her as she will be marrying her fiance Brian and moving to her own house soon anyways.
(Plus Sara can't help but have a smidgen of utter glee that nasty bovine Antonia is getting some comeuppance for all her years on slime swilling behavior by going way down in the career stakes.)
Sara's cousin, Antonia, is a blonde amazon of a beauty and hates that she had to share even a fraction of a shadow of the family limelight with Sara. Needless to say, this has led to years and years and years of Bovine Antonia trying to either destroy or co-opt anything that might belong to Sara.
Unfortunately this also includes Sara's fiance, Brian. When Sara rushes home after the emergency phone call, she finds Antonia and Brian in bed together. Sara is utterly gobsmacked and somehow manages to stumble back to the office, where she works as a PA for a big time business guy, and down a coffee cup of brandy the other PA keeps in his desk for emergencies.
Enter Alex, the big time Italian business guy, who has been massively in love with Sara for over a year. But Sara doesn't even really see him, except as a lady buffet lurving arrogant tyrant with a knack for pulling off impossible deals.
Sara is a bit disapproving of Alex, tho she is too polite to say so. So it must have been the brandy that made her tell his latest dumped lady love caller that Alex is a slime swiller toe rag and the lady can do much better.
Alex seems strangely unimpressed that Sara is completely sloshed and not answering the phones. There are some really funny dictation attempts and Alex generously offers Sara the use of the company apartment as she haltingly explains the horror she just walked into.
When the other PA calls Sara to ask her to get Alex's brother Marco to sign some papers, Sara learns that Alex told Marco that he would pay 2 million dollars for one night with her. Sara's ego and self esteem are at an all time low. Her engagement and her dreams of a happy marriage and home are shattered too. So a two million dollar offer sounds lovely and Marco wanting to do a pin up semi nude photo of her boosts her ego a little too.
Alex shows up and freaks out over Marco and his suggestive lewdness, he punches Marco and then drags Sara out. Alex manages to get Sara back to his apartment, he seems pretty shocked that Sara was really in love with Brian and cancels a dinner party he had planned for the aftershock of Sara's betrayal.
(So you guessed right, Alex set the whole in flagrante delicto scene up. He had one of his security staff check out Brian and discovered he was seeing Antonia on the sly. They faked a call to Sara and that takes us to the start of the book. Sara is still too gobsmacked and boozed up to realize this.)
Alex tries to comfort a seriously distraught Sara by telling her about his own big failed love affair ten years earlier. He met a lovely lady, things were great and then she dumped him and took off. Sara isn't feeling much better by Alex's travails in love, but after a nap and a roofie kiss or two, Sara is ready to revoke her unicorn grooming license forever.
Sara and Alex have a Transcendent Experience on the Golden Shores of Passion moment and then the next morning arrives. Alex was gobsmacked himself when he found out Sara was a unicorn groomer. So he sends a bunch of flowers and is all prepared to whisk Sara off to Paris.
Sara has come to her senses by now. She isn't having any kind of affair with Alex. The night before was a mistake brought on by an attack of ego shattering proportions and a copious amount of brandy. Even tho she is working on her last week of employment for Alex, Sara goes into work.
There Alex makes it clear he wants an affair and after another roofie kiss, this time in front of the entire staff, Sara walks out and goes back to her aunt's house for a while. Sara tells her aunt the engagement is over, but she doesn't want to shock her aunt with the reason why.
Everyone is harassing Sara for being capricious and cancelling the wedding, Brian is arrogantly assuming that he can still marry Sara and Antonia is strutting around like she is the Queen of the sub sewer cesspool.
It is with a great deal of relief that Sara takes off with Alex to go look at a house when he unexpectedly shows up. Alex also tells Sara's aunt and uncle and Brian's family about Antonia and Brian sneaking around together, tho he doesn't mention that Sara found them in bed.
Alex takes Sara to an very nice, but needs a refurbishment, Jacobean manor house. Sara loves the place and Alex smoothly implies that he is ready to settle down and have kids and if Sara will marry him in a mutually beneficial arrangement, the house will be all hers.
(Thus proving that Alex really does know how to make a deal. He initially thought Sara was just infatuated with the whole process of getting married and doing up a house, so he thought he could just dangle a bigger house and a bigger wedding and get the girl. But now he realizes that Sara was emotionally invested in her relationship Brian.)
Alex doesn't like to lose tho, so he figures he can still used the trappings of building a settled life, but throw in the Lurve Force Mojo lurve club events too and make Sara love him that way.
He also strongly points out that Antonia was probably plotting to have Sara dumped at the altar as she ran off with Brian. If Sara marries Alex instead, she can totally pip Antonia at the post and get the type of man Sara's aunt really wanted for Antonia.
Sara isn't at all sure she should be making ANY decisions in her decidedly emotional state, but Alex is a master salesman and he pushes Sara until she agrees to marry him. There is a big wedding that Sara doesn't plan and Sara's aunt manages to interject her own brand of nastiness in when she insists that the now married Antonia and Brian attend her wedding.
(This was the one time where I totally wanted to just smack Sara and tell her to tell her snot snarfer aunt that Antonia and Brian are NOT welcome and for that matter, neither is she.)
At the reception afterwards, Brian tells Sara that Alex set them up to be caught and Sara is really irked. She and Alex have a big fight on the plane during the Venetian honeymoon and Alex tells her she just wanted a trophy husband. Sara tells Alex he is a manipulative toe rag.
The Lurve Force Passion Mojo interferes with Sara staying angry tho, even when some of Alex's friends wanna be OW wives tell Sara she is a dead ringer for Alex's big lost love and that she is a sloppy second. Alex doesn't deny what the woman said, he is having a snit fit because Sara isn't collapsing at his feet and swearing eternal worship for Alex saving her from Brian. He is also massively jealous and cranky about it.
But Sara and Alex do start to connect as a couple, tho when Alex thinks Sara is getting too close, he backs off into office mode. Things come to a big boil when Sara tries to call Alex at work and the new office assistant won't put her through. Then Alex takes off on a business trip and has his other assistant phone Sara to fax some papers.
Sara gets angry that Alex is treating her like she is still his office staff. She is also angry that when Sara makes innocent inquiries like 'when does Alex want to think about a family' Alex takes it as Sara being in competition with Antonia, who got Brian to marry her by claiming she was pregnant. She tells Alex she would have to be cracked in the head to want to bring a child into their relationship as it is.
So Sara decides that if Alex is going to use emotional blackmail to coerce her into being his doormat, she is going to be done with him. She faxes Alex that she is tired of being manipulated and she moves out to the unfinished manor house - Alex bought it with her name on the deed.
Alex is furious and shows up in the middle of a midnight storm. He has to eat banana sandwiches and take a cold shower, cause the house isn't really ready to be lived in yet. He and Sara have a big fight and Sara tells him he needs to quit blaming her for his manipulations and threatening divorce while telling her it is all her fault, cause he is doing plenty of faulty things too.
Alex seems to get that his backing off and continual jealousy over Brian is hurting his marriage and another little truce is established. We learn that Alex's father has been married five times and Alex felt very displaced as the oldest son whose mum died early.
Sara figures out that Alex probably needs a solid, permanent home more than she does and she also realizes that she has fallen in love with Alex, Brian is now a distant and little missed memory.
Then Sara's aunt calls. Sara is miffed because her aunt refuses all Sara's invitations and doesn't seem to want to acknowledge Sara unless she wants something. This time she wants Sara to fix Antonia and Brian's relationship.
Sara decides to go sort Brian out, but she also tells her aunt they are done and then she lies to Alex about what she is doing. Brian is mad because Antonia lied about being pregnant to make Brian marry her before Sara's big day.
Sara feels sorry for Antonia, cause Brian is making Antonia live in the house that Sara designed and decorated. Brian doesn't have the money to pay for a new decor, cause he doesn't make a huge salary and Sara paid for most of the house things herself. Antonia has to live with all of Sara's stuff and it is obviously killing her, then Brian is taunting her that Sara is a better person than she is too.
(Which was patently true, but Brian was a cheater nematode parasite, so why does he think he deserves anything better - and he never paid Sara back for all the house stuff.)
Sara manages to talk Brian around into settling things with Antonia. But then Alex finds out Sara lied and he has a MAJOR blow up. He thinks Sara was sneaking around to have it off with Brian and he wants a divorce.
Sara tries to talk to Alex about what really happened twice, but Alex blows her off and makes a lot of threats and then takes off for parts unknown. Sara is gobsmacked again when she learns Alex has gone off to see his big love from ten years earlier. It seems Alex has been in contact with her for a few years now and Sara thinks the love relationship might be re-established.
So Sara drives up north to check Alex's girlfriend out. The lady is actually married now, looks nothing at all like Sara and Alex is the financial brains behind their business. Alex saved the woman from an abusive husband, but she was older than Alex was and it was more a gratitude affair than a big love match. Now the lady is happily remarried and Alex is a nice friend.
Sara is reassured and after spending the night, she drives home. A very worried Alex is frantically pacing around and is so grateful that Sara came back that he promises never to say he is divorcing her again or to even let her out his sight, cause clearly Sara doesn't yell about things like he does, she just takes action and walks off.
There is a really adorable speech where Alex claims he would have told Sara the sky was pink, if it meant she would marry him and Alex confesses his huge big love and Sara confesses her big love right back.
We all adjourn for some afternoon purple passion and Sara gets Alex to get Brian and Antonia a job out of the country. Alex is happy that some of his devious skills are finally wearing off on sweet Sara and we leave the two of them lurving it up for a very sparkly, rosy glow HEA.
This one is hysterically funny in all the maneuvering that Alex has to do to get Sara to notice him. Sara is a really strong heroine too. She doesn't let Alex get away with bad behavior one little bit, but she isn't mean or witchy about it either.
LG did an excellent job in reversing the typical gender roles of the unrequited boss/secretary romance trope. Alex does exactly what an Alpha male would do in that situation and Sara's responses are truly priceless.
He starts off as a huge nematode at first, but LG manages to turn that around and he is totally adorable by the end. His love for Sara is patently obvious and it is always fun to watch an HP Alpha Male squirm.
That and the really funny scenes are enough to get this on the HP required reading list. So grab this if you find it and have yourself a great adventure with a really believable HEA in HPlandia, this one is completely worth the trip.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2016
I read this years ago, but I didn't really remember much about it. Downloading the Kindle and doing a reread was a good move. I liked this quite a bit. I miss the books where the heroine is a plain Jane. That trope doesn't seem as popular nowadays. The heroine tends to be exquisitely beautiful now more than anything, at least in my opinion. Sara wasn't really a plain Jane. She just wasn't tall and model Slender and blonde. Alex certainly had a very powerful obsession with her. Everyone could tell he was in love with her, except Sara. I like when the hero is crazy about the heroine, but she's a bit oblivious (but not in a she thinks she's too good for him kind of way). Alex is definitely a Lynne Graham hero but he's not quite as arrogant as some of hers run. He seems a bit more vulnerable. I think there would have been less trouble for them both if he had just been honest with Sara about being in love with her. Instead, he was sending out all these mixed signals and getting mad at her because he thought she was still stuck on her ex-fiance.
Glad I did a reread when I did.
Glad I did a reread when I did.
December 20, 2016
This book came out shortly after the million dollar movie with Demi Moore and Robert Redford.
I loved the part when she tells him she would have to be a mental case to want to have his baby.
He was baby himself, therefore, why have one?
I loved the way they finally get together.
This hero had a lot of growing up to do.
I loved the part when she tells him she would have to be a mental case to want to have his baby.
He was baby himself, therefore, why have one?
I loved the way they finally get together.
This hero had a lot of growing up to do.
April 29, 2020
Re-read. I never reviewed this the first time. I don't think I would give it five stars now, since I was missing some of LG's fun touches - such as a pet to nurture or the hero's messing up English when he is so upset. (He does lapse into Italian during his strong emotions) I also found the heroine more annoying this time around.
But this is a very entertaining HP. The story opens as the heroine catches her fiance and cousin in bed together. Heroine has been tipped off by someone , but it doesn't matter. She is done and the engagement is off.
Heroine has been the hero's secretary for the past year. She thinks she hates him because of his womanizing and arrogant ways, but she's as attracted as the rest. Once she's drunk she has a one night stand with the hero, losing her virginity and all of her illusions. Hero pounces and they embark on a marriage of convenience.
The second half wasn't as interesting as the first, but the H/h do manage to resolve their conflicts (and there were a lot of them), thus showing this mismatched pair do belong together.
The fiance and cousin are both miserable and the heroine actually tells off her aunt - so that pushes this into the 4.5 star realm - so I'm keeping the five stars.
But this is a very entertaining HP. The story opens as the heroine catches her fiance and cousin in bed together. Heroine has been tipped off by someone , but it doesn't matter. She is done and the engagement is off.
Heroine has been the hero's secretary for the past year. She thinks she hates him because of his womanizing and arrogant ways, but she's as attracted as the rest. Once she's drunk she has a one night stand with the hero, losing her virginity and all of her illusions. Hero pounces and they embark on a marriage of convenience.
The second half wasn't as interesting as the first, but the H/h do manage to resolve their conflicts (and there were a lot of them), thus showing this mismatched pair do belong together.
The fiance and cousin are both miserable and the heroine actually tells off her aunt - so that pushes this into the 4.5 star realm - so I'm keeping the five stars.
March 29, 2020
3.5 stars
I laughed out loud in parts and, oh yeah, I love me a smitten hero! Alex plotted to have Sara, sinking to depths a master manipulator would be proud of. It was quite Machiavellian and sweet in a romantic way. LOL
However, the writing skewed towards more telling than showing in parts so the angst and passion packed less punch than they could have. This was published in 1996 and, for me, Lynne Graham hadn't quite hit her literary peak yet.
I found it amusing how Sara exhibited plenty of spirit with Alex (uh-uh, she was NOT going to take his complaints in stride), but veered close to doormat-candidacy with her family. Thankfully, her eyes opened up more at the end. Speaking of which, the ending was sweet and had me smiling.
I laughed out loud in parts and, oh yeah, I love me a smitten hero! Alex plotted to have Sara, sinking to depths a master manipulator would be proud of. It was quite Machiavellian and sweet in a romantic way. LOL
However, the writing skewed towards more telling than showing in parts so the angst and passion packed less punch than they could have. This was published in 1996 and, for me, Lynne Graham hadn't quite hit her literary peak yet.
I found it amusing how Sara exhibited plenty of spirit with Alex (uh-uh, she was NOT going to take his complaints in stride), but veered close to doormat-candidacy with her family. Thankfully, her eyes opened up more at the end. Speaking of which, the ending was sweet and had me smiling.
November 26, 2012
This was a very well written book. The story was tight and the plot was well developed and made total sense. There was drama but no drama for drama's sake. The hero, Alex, loves his secretary Sara, and the minute she breaks her engagement to another man he swoops in and hustles her into marriage. He had some real asshatty moments but what was cool was that eventually the heroine figured out that he had a pattern and she called him on it. That was one of the examples of why the book was so well written. You could look back and see along with the heroine that his asshat moments were always of the same type and they were something that totally made sense that a man would feel and his reaction was very realistic.
The heroine was not at all a spineless wimp as is often the case with LG. Sure she was unable to deny him sexually but she stood up for herself on all other counts and really had him dancing to her tune most of the time. She made her share of mistakes in the relationship too but they were well written mistakes and made sense.
Even though the book was written totally in her POV you could easily tell what was going on with the hero. You knew all along that he loved her.
The ending surprised me in a good way. I thought huh? really? I totally didn't expect something that happened there. The ending was not rushed and every emotion was played out and discussed. Loved it and highly recommend it.
The heroine was not at all a spineless wimp as is often the case with LG. Sure she was unable to deny him sexually but she stood up for herself on all other counts and really had him dancing to her tune most of the time. She made her share of mistakes in the relationship too but they were well written mistakes and made sense.
Even though the book was written totally in her POV you could easily tell what was going on with the hero. You knew all along that he loved her.
The ending surprised me in a good way. I thought huh? really? I totally didn't expect something that happened there. The ending was not rushed and every emotion was played out and discussed. Loved it and highly recommend it.
January 15, 2024
LG's old works are the best
April 14, 2017
Rating: 3 1/2 stars
Typical LG Harlequin Presents with a stiff self-sacrificing virgin h who has vile relatives that are unrepentant and irredeemable in every way. I liked the ruthless hero-in-pursuit mode of Alex, though at times, he and Sara were irritating in their insecurity and vicious lashing out at one another. I wanted to smack them both for being stupid! And overly butt sore about the stalest things.
Sara was feisty and put Alex in his place. What I didn't like was her doormat behavior with her ex-fiance, cousin, and family! It was too much and made me grit my teeth.
Alex was really something. A man with a plan and unwilling to give up on what he wanted.
There is a strategy; involved plotting with the H who is Machiavellian to the core! I liked him despite his nastiness at times but I appreciated when he put the h in her place for waxing self-righteous on him. It was timely and spot on!
All and all, this wasn't a bad HP. The twist at the end could have been left out as well as the predictable family shenanigans of "You owe us" but overall I liked this one and would recommend it.
Typical LG Harlequin Presents with a stiff self-sacrificing virgin h who has vile relatives that are unrepentant and irredeemable in every way. I liked the ruthless hero-in-pursuit mode of Alex, though at times, he and Sara were irritating in their insecurity and vicious lashing out at one another. I wanted to smack them both for being stupid! And overly butt sore about the stalest things.
Sara was feisty and put Alex in his place. What I didn't like was her doormat behavior with her ex-fiance, cousin, and family! It was too much and made me grit my teeth.
Alex was really something. A man with a plan and unwilling to give up on what he wanted.
There is a strategy; involved plotting with the H who is Machiavellian to the core! I liked him despite his nastiness at times but I appreciated when he put the h in her place for waxing self-righteous on him. It was timely and spot on!
All and all, this wasn't a bad HP. The twist at the end could have been left out as well as the predictable family shenanigans of "You owe us" but overall I liked this one and would recommend it.
February 21, 2014
I hate reading about heroines who are or think are crazy in love with their cheating exes but I enjoyed this. Hero was so smitten and so in love with clueless heroine he even plotted a scheme against her fiance. Their marriage of convenience is full of angst, passion, jealousy and misunderstandings. As always Lynne Graham u keep me hooked to the last word!
April 16, 2017
I did not love this one. Probably will not re-read it.
It had a lot of great things about it, but also a lot of frustrating things...
The heroine's family was so hideous and mean, and she kept going back for a 2nd (and 3rd and 4th) helping. It was beyond ridiculous.
Two things pushed this over the edge for me...the hero did something that was unforgivable and ridiculous at the end, and the heroine did something ridiculous and stupid at the end.
There was the potential for a great book in here, but it got lost in some questionable plot decisions that pushed it over the edge of the Thelma and Louise cliff for me.
Moving on...
It had a lot of great things about it, but also a lot of frustrating things...
The heroine's family was so hideous and mean, and she kept going back for a 2nd (and 3rd and 4th) helping. It was beyond ridiculous.
Two things pushed this over the edge for me...the hero did something that was unforgivable and ridiculous at the end, and the heroine did something ridiculous and stupid at the end.
There was the potential for a great book in here, but it got lost in some questionable plot decisions that pushed it over the edge of the Thelma and Louise cliff for me.
Moving on...
January 13, 2021
Very entertaining reread. From their first on page interaction, you know he’s completely into her.
June 4, 2019
This is a HP with Cinderella overtones. h raised by stern/emotionally abusive aunt. h's cousin bullies h throughout her life. The aunt and uncle clearly show favoritism to their own daughter at h's expense. h's cousin has modeling ambitions - tall, pretty, blonde. h works as a PA and becomes engaged to a salesman. h dresses very conservatively and represses any feelings/reactions to her very hot, Italian boss H.
h receives a call at lunchtime indicating she needs to rush home. h and cuz live together - h pressured by aunt to help out cousin when she met with financial difficulties as the modelling did not pan out as projected. h catches fiancé and cousin in the act. When h returns to work, H is waiting for her and offers support in her state of shock.
H has some baggage, is good looking, used to women who cause no problems for him, and expects the h to act similarly - she doesn't. I'm not sure why it has taken me this long to read this one in my TBR pile, but I'm glad my recent book funk made me read it. I enjoyed it. I was thinking 3.5 stars rounded up.
h receives a call at lunchtime indicating she needs to rush home. h and cuz live together - h pressured by aunt to help out cousin when she met with financial difficulties as the modelling did not pan out as projected. h catches fiancé and cousin in the act. When h returns to work, H is waiting for her and offers support in her state of shock.
H has some baggage, is good looking, used to women who cause no problems for him, and expects the h to act similarly - she doesn't. I'm not sure why it has taken me this long to read this one in my TBR pile, but I'm glad my recent book funk made me read it. I enjoyed it. I was thinking 3.5 stars rounded up.
January 15, 2013
The male lead is possessive, arrogant, manipulative and jealous and yet I find myself liking him. The female character on the other hand, I wanted to slap or shake a few times.
After getting an urgent phone call at the office, Sara runs home just to find her fiance in bed with her cousin, six weeks prior to her wedding. With no other place to go, she heads back to the office. Alex, the arrogant, sexy, womanizing boss is there to help her from falling into pieces.
From the very beginning the reader can see right through Alex.
After getting an urgent phone call at the office, Sara runs home just to find her fiance in bed with her cousin, six weeks prior to her wedding. With no other place to go, she heads back to the office. Alex, the arrogant, sexy, womanizing boss is there to help her from falling into pieces.
From the very beginning the reader can see right through Alex.
April 2, 2017
- calls her a bitch
- tells her he's dumping her but will never give her a divorce and threatens to make her life hell
- then tells her he wants a divorce and leaves
- refuses to listen to her and walks away
- then complains she ran away, she should have shouted, HOW? HOW YOU FUCKER? YOU FUCKING WALKED AWAY!
- he doesn't trust her yet claims her full trust
No amount of grovelling would have made me forgive him! He needed a little more punishment!
- tells her he's dumping her but will never give her a divorce and threatens to make her life hell
- then tells her he wants a divorce and leaves
- refuses to listen to her and walks away
- then complains she ran away, she should have shouted, HOW? HOW YOU FUCKER? YOU FUCKING WALKED AWAY!
- he doesn't trust her yet claims her full trust
No amount of grovelling would have made me forgive him! He needed a little more punishment!
April 13, 2019
Very good angsty romance. I loved the smitten H and the h with a backbone of steel. Most of the conflict was between the couple trying to figure out their relationship. I appreciated that there was only mild OW drama. The h spoke her mind and wouldn't accept his poor treatment. And when they were happy it was swoonworthy. But these two went round and round a little too much. The H used miscommunication to deliberately make her jealous (*because that's the way you earn the love of your wife*). So as much as I liked it, I'll settle on 3 stars.
There are several really great reviews on this book so I recommend you read some of those to get a clear picture of this book.
Safety
There are several really great reviews on this book so I recommend you read some of those to get a clear picture of this book.
Safety
May 8, 2020
I have wanted to read "The Trophy Husband" for years,and now when i have finally read it..i have to admit.Lynne Graham has become one of my favourite authors.I just love the twist in her romantic books and the chemistry between the two maincharacters,with innocent but passionate heroine and a hot-headed arrogant and sexy tyccon of hero..and i just LOVE this one.
. 'Did you mean it when you said you loved
me?'
Sara lifted possessive hands to his broad shoulders and looked up at him with glowing eyes. 'What do you think?'
'I think I want you to say it at least once every five minutes.'
'I love you...'
His lean hands were unsteady as he cupped her cheeks. 'I don't know how you didn't see that I was madly in love with you, greedy for your attention, possessive of your every thought...'
Alex Rossini and Sara had a hell of a chemistry from the start.I like the fact that Sara wasn`t all swoon over Alex from the beginning like all heroines of Grahams are.I somehow knew that Alex plan was to have Sara from the start,and he used her fiances infidelity for it.Gosh how i love that man for it!He took whatever chance he got to get her.
Saras growing love was understandable,also Alex insureness.He saw Sara close to her ex-fiance on their wedding and she even throwed it in his face that she still loves her ex-fiance,and i understood Alex jealousy and that he was in pain,and it exploded of course when she lied to him near the end.
But i like how Sara confronted Alex ex-girlfriend at the end,she was a true worthy heroine of Alex and i also like that she finally admitted her love for him.I love heroines who fight for their man!
. 'Did you mean it when you said you loved
me?'
Sara lifted possessive hands to his broad shoulders and looked up at him with glowing eyes. 'What do you think?'
'I think I want you to say it at least once every five minutes.'
'I love you...'
His lean hands were unsteady as he cupped her cheeks. 'I don't know how you didn't see that I was madly in love with you, greedy for your attention, possessive of your every thought...'
Alex Rossini and Sara had a hell of a chemistry from the start.I like the fact that Sara wasn`t all swoon over Alex from the beginning like all heroines of Grahams are.I somehow knew that Alex plan was to have Sara from the start,and he used her fiances infidelity for it.Gosh how i love that man for it!He took whatever chance he got to get her.
Saras growing love was understandable,also Alex insureness.He saw Sara close to her ex-fiance on their wedding and she even throwed it in his face that she still loves her ex-fiance,and i understood Alex jealousy and that he was in pain,and it exploded of course when she lied to him near the end.
But i like how Sara confronted Alex ex-girlfriend at the end,she was a true worthy heroine of Alex and i also like that she finally admitted her love for him.I love heroines who fight for their man!
August 15, 2018
"The Trophy Husband" is the story of Sara and Alex.
So the plot is as follows: the heroine finds her ideal fiance (whom she lurveees so much and has been keeping her flower for) in bed with her perfect looking model cousin, she runs out and into the arms of her horny *cough* handsome boss, who's been lusting after her forever, and has a one night stand!
Soon circumstances force her to marry him, but she's still dealing with her old betrayals and feelings, making the hero kind of a trophy husband.
This book started out great- obsessed husband, betrayed virgin heroine, hot sex, eeevvvill relatives. But then it went downhill.
There is enough ex drama to fill a dumpster from both the ends. There are cheating allegations,suspicions, hurt feelings, verbal banter *cough* abuse, snarky other women and a lot of running away.
Overall, they both came off as a very dysfunctional couple who got married due to their lust and their "love" was hardly believable. I really wanted both of them to be shown getting over Brian/Elissa.
SWE/Unsafe
2/5
So the plot is as follows: the heroine finds her ideal fiance (whom she lurveees so much and has been keeping her flower for) in bed with her perfect looking model cousin, she runs out and into the arms of her horny *cough* handsome boss, who's been lusting after her forever, and has a one night stand!
Soon circumstances force her to marry him, but she's still dealing with her old betrayals and feelings, making the hero kind of a trophy husband.
This book started out great- obsessed husband, betrayed virgin heroine, hot sex, eeevvvill relatives. But then it went downhill.
There is enough ex drama to fill a dumpster from both the ends. There are cheating allegations,suspicions, hurt feelings, verbal banter *cough* abuse, snarky other women and a lot of running away.
Overall, they both came off as a very dysfunctional couple who got married due to their lust and their "love" was hardly believable. I really wanted both of them to be shown getting over Brian/Elissa.
SWE/Unsafe
2/5
February 16, 2025
Unlike The Unfaitful Wife, there was a real besotted but very insecure and jealous H with a real feelings he unleashed mercilessly when he was hurt! yummy
January 5, 2021
It was an entertaining angsty read with cruel tongued hero. But I enjoyed the unexpected twists and turns.
A clearly smitten, jealous hero was the highlight.
Safe and recommended
A clearly smitten, jealous hero was the highlight.
Safe and recommended
October 2, 2021
1.5 stars rounded up to 2 because I'm generous like that.
But I am NOT happy here.
Sooo not happy...
Let me start off by saying that I am aware that this is a harlequin but I still was kinda hopeful because the synopsis sounded so good and a lot of people seemed to like this one.
Plus, a marriage of convenience is my personal favourite, not gonna lie.
However, what we got here was just a disappointing mess.
First off, the heroine, Sara if I remember correctly, was so boldly dumb and doormaty for the entirety of the book, I'm pretty sure that the plant on my window sill has more character than this girl. Seriously, she was so weak and pathetic, I wanted to scream. Well, at least at first.
Later, I just wanted to smack her on that stupid head of hers.
Why?
There were many situations where her doormaty character, complete lack of self respect and utter stupidity came shining through. But first things first.
We meet Sara when she gets a phone call at work and rushed to her apartment where she discovers her fiance in bed with her cousin.
At this point I also need to add that Sara was brought up in her cousin's house by her aunt and uncle. The entire family is pure evil, degrading her the entire time, being verbally abusive and generally treating her like shit.
Also, her cousin was also her flatmate. She moved into her place after her model career came to a halt and she had no money or some other nonsense. Need I add she was even worse than her parents? And that her parents forced Sara to accept her cos in her own flat?
Yeah.
So after seeing that, she goes back to the office and gets hammered. And that's when her boss appears.
Oh boy.
Enter Alex, our hero.
Alex is known as a womanizer who isn't interested in relationships, doesn't believe in love, is a ruthless businessman and simply a jerk. And when he sees her he offers to help her. And eventually they end up in his house and sleep together. She said: fuck this shit! and Alex was hot as hell, so why not?
Did I add that Sara was a virgin? Because she was saving herself for her wedding night.
But the next day paps take a photo of them together and that's how the world finds out Alex's girl of the week.
She goes back to live with her vile aunt and the funny thing is that instead of saying why she truly broke her engagement, she decides to stay silent and allows everyone to think she was the one cheating.
Why? Fuck if I knew.
Oh, and they truly wanted to eat her head off and simply called her a tramp. And her cos was there and said there was no way in hell a nobody like Sara could catch a hunk like Alex.
Nice, right?
And Sara? She instead of punching that cheap hoe, she just stood there and let them all insult her.
And if that's not weak and pathetic, I dunno what is.
And that's when Alex shows up, takes her away from those fuckers, spills the beans to her family about what really happened and then proposes a marriage of convenience to Sara, saying he needs to settle down and that they have the same priorities in life.
And what's best is that she says 'yes' lol.
And I don't want to get into details but their marriage is basically them either arguing, him being jealous of the ex fiance, shagging like bunnies and arguing some more.
Not once did they actually have a normal conversation about all the issues that needed to be addressed. Not even fucking once. So that was exhausting as hell.
They do have their HEA and Sara finally learns the truth that Alex has been in love with her from the moment she started working for him.
And I love me some good story when a hero secretly pines over a heroine. I truly do.
This one, however, wasn't done right.
What I also need to add is the writing style.It was so weird and confusing, I honestly couldn't get into that story completely and it was pretty exhausting to read. Normally a story this length takes me one afternoon to finish. This one stole 3 days of my life.
All in all, the story did have a lot of potential. I really liked the idea the author had for this book. Unfortunately, the execution was very poor.
Plus, if the heroine wasn't this dumb, I would've enjoyed this story much more.
Oh, and one more thing. If you give me side characters who are pure evil, have the decency to at least make them suffer in the end. Give me that satisfaction where I can see the regret in their eyes. Give me something.
Here they were evil just to be evil. And probably to annoy the fuck out of the reader.
But I am NOT happy here.
Sooo not happy...
Let me start off by saying that I am aware that this is a harlequin but I still was kinda hopeful because the synopsis sounded so good and a lot of people seemed to like this one.
Plus, a marriage of convenience is my personal favourite, not gonna lie.
However, what we got here was just a disappointing mess.
First off, the heroine, Sara if I remember correctly, was so boldly dumb and doormaty for the entirety of the book, I'm pretty sure that the plant on my window sill has more character than this girl. Seriously, she was so weak and pathetic, I wanted to scream. Well, at least at first.
Later, I just wanted to smack her on that stupid head of hers.
Why?
There were many situations where her doormaty character, complete lack of self respect and utter stupidity came shining through. But first things first.
We meet Sara when she gets a phone call at work and rushed to her apartment where she discovers her fiance in bed with her cousin.
At this point I also need to add that Sara was brought up in her cousin's house by her aunt and uncle. The entire family is pure evil, degrading her the entire time, being verbally abusive and generally treating her like shit.
Also, her cousin was also her flatmate. She moved into her place after her model career came to a halt and she had no money or some other nonsense. Need I add she was even worse than her parents? And that her parents forced Sara to accept her cos in her own flat?
Yeah.
So after seeing that, she goes back to the office and gets hammered. And that's when her boss appears.
Oh boy.
Enter Alex, our hero.
Alex is known as a womanizer who isn't interested in relationships, doesn't believe in love, is a ruthless businessman and simply a jerk. And when he sees her he offers to help her. And eventually they end up in his house and sleep together. She said: fuck this shit! and Alex was hot as hell, so why not?
Did I add that Sara was a virgin? Because she was saving herself for her wedding night.
But the next day paps take a photo of them together and that's how the world finds out Alex's girl of the week.
She goes back to live with her vile aunt and the funny thing is that instead of saying why she truly broke her engagement, she decides to stay silent and allows everyone to think she was the one cheating.
Why? Fuck if I knew.
Oh, and they truly wanted to eat her head off and simply called her a tramp. And her cos was there and said there was no way in hell a nobody like Sara could catch a hunk like Alex.
Nice, right?
And Sara? She instead of punching that cheap hoe, she just stood there and let them all insult her.
And if that's not weak and pathetic, I dunno what is.
And that's when Alex shows up, takes her away from those fuckers, spills the beans to her family about what really happened and then proposes a marriage of convenience to Sara, saying he needs to settle down and that they have the same priorities in life.
And what's best is that she says 'yes' lol.
And I don't want to get into details but their marriage is basically them either arguing, him being jealous of the ex fiance, shagging like bunnies and arguing some more.
Not once did they actually have a normal conversation about all the issues that needed to be addressed. Not even fucking once. So that was exhausting as hell.
They do have their HEA and Sara finally learns the truth that Alex has been in love with her from the moment she started working for him.
And I love me some good story when a hero secretly pines over a heroine. I truly do.
This one, however, wasn't done right.
What I also need to add is the writing style.It was so weird and confusing, I honestly couldn't get into that story completely and it was pretty exhausting to read. Normally a story this length takes me one afternoon to finish. This one stole 3 days of my life.
All in all, the story did have a lot of potential. I really liked the idea the author had for this book. Unfortunately, the execution was very poor.
Plus, if the heroine wasn't this dumb, I would've enjoyed this story much more.
Oh, and one more thing. If you give me side characters who are pure evil, have the decency to at least make them suffer in the end. Give me that satisfaction where I can see the regret in their eyes. Give me something.
Here they were evil just to be evil. And probably to annoy the fuck out of the reader.
March 28, 2020
3.5 stars
July 14, 2019
4 1/2 Stars ~ Sara had been working for Alex for about a year and knowing his reputation with women, she's always kept him at arms length; in fact, he makes her uncomfortable. One day she gets a call that her cousin needs her at their flat urgently, and so she rushes out. When she arrives she's shocked to find her cousin, Toni, in bed with her fiance Brian. Not knowing where to go, she goes back to the office, where she rifles her co-workers desk for the bottle of brandy he keeps there. In comes Alex, surprised at the brandy, but not surprised to see her so upset. He offers the big brother shoulder to cry on, and Sara in her now tipsy confusion responds. Over the next hours Alex looks after her, and lets her sleep off emotions. Waking she finds herself in his bed, with him sitting watching in the shadows of the room. This softer gentler Alex is very appealing and Sara wants her night of passion and she invites him to her bed.
When Alex admits he's wanted Sara from the first time they've met, she's doesn't know how to react. She can't deny their chemistry, it overwhelms her, but she's not willing to become his mistress. So when Alex becomes relentless in his pursuit she goes home to her aunt and uncle who had raised her. The situation is almost unbearable there, as neither Toni or Brian had told their family the truth of Sara and Brian's breakup. As things become too much, Alex arrives to rescue her, and in a matter of hours she finds herself agreeing to marry him.
This is such a compelling love story. From the first pages, Ms. Graham cleverly plotted a roller coaster ride for Alex and Sara. The little bread crumbs dropped lead to several revelations that make this a story to remember. Though written from Sara's POV, Ms. Graham leaves us with no doubt that Alex is crazily in love, so crazy that he makes daring moves to see that Sara becomes his. It takes a while but Sara comes to understand her husband, and in that understanding she bravely fights for his love and their future. In their own insecurities, both make mistakes that nearly shatters their fragile marriage. Happily neither are prepared to give up. This is an emotionally intense story that I'm sure I'll enjoy reading again.
‘Don’t…’ Alex reproved her thickly. ‘I want to make love to you very badly. I’ve wanted you for a long time but I won’t take advantage of you when you don’t know what you’re doing.’ .........
Her jewel-like eyes were relentlessly nailed to his as an unfamiliar feeling of power took her over. ‘I want…I want to be wanted tonight…’
‘OK…’ Alex sprang upright in one driven motion and stared fulminatingly down at her. ‘But you remember that this is not how I wanted it to be between us.’
When Alex admits he's wanted Sara from the first time they've met, she's doesn't know how to react. She can't deny their chemistry, it overwhelms her, but she's not willing to become his mistress. So when Alex becomes relentless in his pursuit she goes home to her aunt and uncle who had raised her. The situation is almost unbearable there, as neither Toni or Brian had told their family the truth of Sara and Brian's breakup. As things become too much, Alex arrives to rescue her, and in a matter of hours she finds herself agreeing to marry him.
This is such a compelling love story. From the first pages, Ms. Graham cleverly plotted a roller coaster ride for Alex and Sara. The little bread crumbs dropped lead to several revelations that make this a story to remember. Though written from Sara's POV, Ms. Graham leaves us with no doubt that Alex is crazily in love, so crazy that he makes daring moves to see that Sara becomes his. It takes a while but Sara comes to understand her husband, and in that understanding she bravely fights for his love and their future. In their own insecurities, both make mistakes that nearly shatters their fragile marriage. Happily neither are prepared to give up. This is an emotionally intense story that I'm sure I'll enjoy reading again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2021
”She faced reality. It was all her own fault, she conceded wretchedly. How could she have been that stupid!”
👀 I mean… 😬
Look, I like the sweet naive heroines. I do. They are legit my favorite. I love the little halo over their heads… 😇🥰
I’ve noticed, though, that Lynne Graham likes to take this to the next level. I know it’s very PC for the Other Women In a story to actually be nice people, but the abuse some of these gals accept from OW who are supposed to be their friends or family, is STAGGERING. And this h really stretched my patience. Her cousin is carrying on an affair with her fiancé that she walks In on, and she’s still acting the doormat with her by the end. Constantly making excuses for her and helping her. Just No. F*ck that B*tch. It doesn’t matter that she dodged a bullet with that boring cheater fiancé, she should expect more from her cousin. Yuck.
And of course the one OW that she was so worried the H was still in love with? Yeah, she’s a saint too. 🙄🙄😐🤡
And almost every single problem she faces with the H can be laid at her own door. Some of her choices are just straight stupid.
So, it kinda sounds like I hated this book, right? 😅 Why the 4-stars??
Well, I like this Hero. 🙃 He’s manipulative and ruthless and fully prepared to play the long game. He’s not afraid of a little stalking and subterfuge to maneuver the h exactly where he wants her. 😈 I loved that even when he tries to push her away, he always surprises both the h and the reader by showing back up for another round. He’s obviously smitten. I loved him.
So 3-stars for the doormat h and 5-stars for the relentless H. 🤷🏼♀️
⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️
- no cheating or sharing
- OW drama - h is H’s secretary, so at the beginning of the book she’s fielding his lady-friend calls. Also she’s told that he was once in love with an older woman, and this idea causes the h a lot of angst - no worries, all is not as it appears
- OM drama - H is jealous of h’s ex-fiancé
- dubcon - there’s a bodice ripper scene where the h initially tells the H no… but he keeps going… so forced seduction - also, their first time, she’s inebriated
- h is a surprise virgin (23)
- H was a womanizer (34)
👀 I mean… 😬
Look, I like the sweet naive heroines. I do. They are legit my favorite. I love the little halo over their heads… 😇🥰
I’ve noticed, though, that Lynne Graham likes to take this to the next level. I know it’s very PC for the Other Women In a story to actually be nice people, but the abuse some of these gals accept from OW who are supposed to be their friends or family, is STAGGERING. And this h really stretched my patience. Her cousin is carrying on an affair with her fiancé that she walks In on, and she’s still acting the doormat with her by the end. Constantly making excuses for her and helping her. Just No. F*ck that B*tch. It doesn’t matter that she dodged a bullet with that boring cheater fiancé, she should expect more from her cousin. Yuck.
And of course the one OW that she was so worried the H was still in love with? Yeah, she’s a saint too. 🙄🙄😐🤡
And almost every single problem she faces with the H can be laid at her own door. Some of her choices are just straight stupid.
So, it kinda sounds like I hated this book, right? 😅 Why the 4-stars??
Well, I like this Hero. 🙃 He’s manipulative and ruthless and fully prepared to play the long game. He’s not afraid of a little stalking and subterfuge to maneuver the h exactly where he wants her. 😈 I loved that even when he tries to push her away, he always surprises both the h and the reader by showing back up for another round. He’s obviously smitten. I loved him.
So 3-stars for the doormat h and 5-stars for the relentless H. 🤷🏼♀️
⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️
- no cheating or sharing
- OW drama - h is H’s secretary, so at the beginning of the book she’s fielding his lady-friend calls. Also she’s told that he was once in love with an older woman, and this idea causes the h a lot of angst - no worries, all is not as it appears
- OM drama - H is jealous of h’s ex-fiancé
- dubcon - there’s a bodice ripper scene where the h initially tells the H no… but he keeps going… so forced seduction - also, their first time, she’s inebriated
- h is a surprise virgin (23)
- H was a womanizer (34)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 21, 2019
4.25 Stars!
July 30, 2022
4.5 🌟
Late to the show for this LG that I’d missed to pick up all this while. A kind of reverse angst situation where you consider yourself above the wreckage you create of your own perfect life.
The h and H are employee/ boss and all’s well for the h who’s just about to get married. She gets a call to visit home and catches the fiancé with her cousin. She comes back to work devastated and defenceless and that’s when the H steps in and the show starts.
The H who is her playboy boss offers her solace and a shoulder to cry on. The h wants to be held and loved and they have their forbidden ONS.
The h is totally oblivious to the stark fact that her boss is head over heels in love with her. He’s ready to buy her happiness as well as lay out his soul so she can have a new beginning with him with a home and children.
Seriously the h is stupid beyond belief. They get married despite a hundred issues but both the MCs are suspicious of each other’s commitment. The h thinks she can’t have possibly rectified a man who’s been prone to changing partners every week. The H is super jealous and is always suspecting that the h is lusting after her ex-fiancé.
I don’t blame the H because the h tried pretty darn hard to wreck her marriage to such a loving man. She’d lie to him and could not for her life trust him despite his sweet assurances and deep pockets.
I was just about done with the h’s bad attitude until she got kicked in her butt with her final draw. That last minute lie to save OM for her aunt’s sake was below the belt. She got lucky that her husband really was deeply and irrevocably in love with her or else .. there was no saving for the mess she made of her beautiful life!
There was some slight reference to a possible baby but it didn’t conclude and there wasn’t any epilogue either. A memorable one from LG! Also, there’s a huge reveal in the book about how it all began anyways.. the broken marriage to one man, and a swift marriage to another one. Very sweet and passionate. Highly recommend
Late to the show for this LG that I’d missed to pick up all this while. A kind of reverse angst situation where you consider yourself above the wreckage you create of your own perfect life.
The h and H are employee/ boss and all’s well for the h who’s just about to get married. She gets a call to visit home and catches the fiancé with her cousin. She comes back to work devastated and defenceless and that’s when the H steps in and the show starts.
The H who is her playboy boss offers her solace and a shoulder to cry on. The h wants to be held and loved and they have their forbidden ONS.
The h is totally oblivious to the stark fact that her boss is head over heels in love with her. He’s ready to buy her happiness as well as lay out his soul so she can have a new beginning with him with a home and children.
Seriously the h is stupid beyond belief. They get married despite a hundred issues but both the MCs are suspicious of each other’s commitment. The h thinks she can’t have possibly rectified a man who’s been prone to changing partners every week. The H is super jealous and is always suspecting that the h is lusting after her ex-fiancé.
I don’t blame the H because the h tried pretty darn hard to wreck her marriage to such a loving man. She’d lie to him and could not for her life trust him despite his sweet assurances and deep pockets.
I was just about done with the h’s bad attitude until she got kicked in her butt with her final draw. That last minute lie to save OM for her aunt’s sake was below the belt. She got lucky that her husband really was deeply and irrevocably in love with her or else .. there was no saving for the mess she made of her beautiful life!
There was some slight reference to a possible baby but it didn’t conclude and there wasn’t any epilogue either. A memorable one from LG! Also, there’s a huge reveal in the book about how it all began anyways.. the broken marriage to one man, and a swift marriage to another one. Very sweet and passionate. Highly recommend
March 30, 2011
Every once and awhile Graham pulls something different and special out of her hat. In this case the hero, Alex, has had a fascination with Sara over the past year but didn't act on it. You see she was engaged and seemingly happy. That particular insight made me realize that this hero was worthy of the title. Not to say he didn't try to catch her interest, or quickly grabs his opportunity when her fiancée's caught cheating.The rest of the book I watched with amusement how he struggled to protect himself, yet failing, fearing more the threat of her leaving him.
Sara was too busy working through her issues to see what was happening under her nose. Getting involved with Alex immediately after discovering her cousin and fiancée together had her on her heels, and unable to trust anyone and especially her feelings.
Lashing out becomes a defense mechanism as these two work through their fears and desires. They are running -- but little do they realize they are running to each other and a HEA.
Enjoy.
Sara was too busy working through her issues to see what was happening under her nose. Getting involved with Alex immediately after discovering her cousin and fiancée together had her on her heels, and unable to trust anyone and especially her feelings.
Lashing out becomes a defense mechanism as these two work through their fears and desires. They are running -- but little do they realize they are running to each other and a HEA.
Enjoy.
January 14, 2018
So much fun to read!
There is so much going on in this book that your head will spin. But the H and the h provide hours on entertainment with their constant bickering.
Alex, the H, is so obviously head over heels with Sara, the h, that he deviously plotted to help her see the errors of getting engaged to another man who was not worthy of her. And the ex really wasn’t.
The H was adorable in the way he went about manipulating the h around to his way of thinking. You can’t help but love him.
The poor h was so confused most of the book. She didn’t know what the hell was going on since the H went hot and cold at the speed of light. Then there was her horrific family. Her aunt was cold bitch and her cousin a self centered, selfish witch. I was glad when she decided to marry Alex cause it took her out of her family’s orbit.
There is lots of drama, humor and a H and h that you can’t help but love. I will read this one again. I enjoyed it too much not to.
There is so much going on in this book that your head will spin. But the H and the h provide hours on entertainment with their constant bickering.
Alex, the H, is so obviously head over heels with Sara, the h, that he deviously plotted to help her see the errors of getting engaged to another man who was not worthy of her. And the ex really wasn’t.
The H was adorable in the way he went about manipulating the h around to his way of thinking. You can’t help but love him.
The poor h was so confused most of the book. She didn’t know what the hell was going on since the H went hot and cold at the speed of light. Then there was her horrific family. Her aunt was cold bitch and her cousin a self centered, selfish witch. I was glad when she decided to marry Alex cause it took her out of her family’s orbit.
There is lots of drama, humor and a H and h that you can’t help but love. I will read this one again. I enjoyed it too much not to.
October 2, 2011
This is one of Lynne Graham's best. The hero loves the heroine more than she loves him. The heroine is engaged to be married and has no idea that the hero, who also happens to be her boss, has had a private eyed spy on her finance. Hero makes sure he's right there when the bad news comes and scopes the heroine up to make it all right.
Read this if you like books where the hero loves the heroine more or is aware of his feelings first. IIRC, this book is also a bit of grovel
Read this if you like books where the hero loves the heroine more or is aware of his feelings first. IIRC, this book is also a bit of grovel
December 8, 2015
I love this book. I mean I was completely floored at the first chapter. It has a very climatic beginning that brings about the change in her perception. The only way I would ever choose that kind of brutal awakening is a guarantee that Alex would be my prize and my shoulder to cry on. It's a strong LG book and it doesn't disappoint.
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